Don't force Ladner El special needs students out of their own school.

Our ASD-diagnosed eleven year old son, Jared, is getting kicked out of his school.

He is not alone: his entire class is in line for the boot as well. Courtesy of a unilateral decision by Delta School District, the Special Needs Resource Room is being shifted from Ladner Elementary - Jared's "home" since grade one - to a school further away.

Parents were not consulted. Teachers were not consulted. Ladner El, as far as we can tell, had zero say. The potentially devastating social and emotional impact upon students, like Jared, with neurological disorders was never accounted for. Neither was the fact that Jared, now nearing the end of grade six, will be required to attend three different schools in the next three years. It was a decision made by bureaucrats, borne out of convenience, ignorance and bottom-line BS. Somewhat ironically, this was the systemic mindset that prompted our move from Australia to Canada six years ago.

These sorts of disgraceful decisions are not limited to Delta School District - they are endemic across educational gatekeepers worldwide, short-changing our children's future on the basis of "tough economic times". Have your say, not just for Jared's sake, but for the benefit of all kids suffering under this abhorrent ideology.